Bringing Christopher Nolan's Batman to Comics

After four years of waiting, Christopher Nolan's final Batman film has hit theaters. The Dark Knight Rises serves as the final part of a trilogy that explores the rise and fall of Gotham's greatest hero. And unlike last time, Nolan has made it clear that he won't be coming back for a fourth outing.

WB has yet to announce what the future holds for Batman's Hollywood career, but it seems almost certain that they'll reboot the Caped Crusader and deliver a new take that moves away from the gritty realism of Nolan's movies and towards something that allows for team-ups with Superman and the Justice League. Does that mean we've seen the last of Nolan's Batman in any medium?

It doesn't have to be that way. Just as DC has continued the Smallville saga in Smallville: Season 11, the potential exists for a comic book-based continuation or spinoff of Nolan's Batman. Mind you, there's been no announcement or rumors to suggest such a thing is happening, but we thought it would be fun to explore the possible angles a Dark Knight Rises spinoff might take. In this feature we break down five ways that DC could expand on or continue Nolan's storyline.

One more time: Spoilers ahead.

Bruce Wayne's Global Adventures

Perhaps more than anything, what set Batman Begins apart from the various Batman films of the past was its in-depth look at the journey Bruce Wayne took to becoming Batman. The first half of the movie follows his childhood trauma, his intensive training with the League of Shadows, and the formative events that shaped him as a hero. Bruce doesn't actually don the Batman costume until the second hour of the movie, and there was nary a complaint from fans.

Even so, we feel there's plenty more material to explore during this flashback time period. A Batman isn't made in a day, or even over the course of a few months. Bruce already showed himself to be a pretty competent fighter during the opening prison sequence. No doubt he trained with other teachers and mentors before throwing his lot in with Ducard. Perhaps there's a good story worth telling about a more inexperienced and less worldly Bruce. This could even be a way of introducing other DC martial artists into Nolan's universe, such as Lady Shiva or Richard Dragon.

Regardless of whether it's actually set in this particular Bat-verse, we really would like to see a comic devoted solely to exploring Bruce's pre-Batman travels. The comics have been less interested in mining this material than you might think. Detective Comics #27 essentially suggested that Bruce lifted a lot of weights and poured some chemicals back and forth between beakers until he evolved into some sort of mutant hybrid of Achilles and Sherlock Holmes. Even dedicated Batman origin stories, like Batman: Year One and Batman: Earth One, tend to gloss over this portion of the saga and skip to when Bruce returned to Gotham.

We almost got a live-action TV series devoted to this concept, until WB canned the idea in lieu of Batman Begins. We can't complain about the outcome, but that doesn't mean there aren't still good stories to tell in Bruce Wayne's chaotic early years.

After Batman Begins

There's a better part of a year separating the events of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. In that time, Batman continues waging his war on crime while Harvey Dent rises to power as Gotham's new D.A. Surely there are at least one or two interesting stories worth being told in this time period. The Gotham Knight animated DVD attempted to fill the gap. Unfortunately, nothing about the segments in that collection particularly felt like Nolan's version of Batman. They could just as easily have been new episodes of Batman: The Animated Series with unusual art design.

We wouldn't mind seeing a comic that strives to explore this murky time period and chronicle Bruce's early struggles as Batman. Despite his early victories over Carmine Falcone and the League of Shadows, Batman has a long road ahead of him gaining control of the streets and spreading his legend. As we saw from Christian Bale's scarred body in The Dark Knight, plenty of mistakes were made along the way.

This approach would also allow the creative team to induct new Batman villains into Nolan's universe. Gotham Knight introduced Deadshot. Perhaps there are other minor rogues who would fit well into this period – Black Mask, KGBeast, Ventriloquist, etc. Whatever the case, there's far more worthwhile material in this period than Gotham Knight was able to mine.

After The Dark Knight

As is made clear from the first shot of an aging, hobbling Bruce Wayne, eight years have passed between the conclusion of The Dark Knight and the opening of The Dark Knight Rises. As far as the latter film would have you believe, nothing much transpired during that long stretch. Batman took the fall for Two-Face's murders, the Dent Act kept organized crime off the streets, and Gotham enjoyed eight years of relative peace.

That said, eight years is a long time. And as one of the characters pointed out, there were no “confirmed sightings” of Batman during that time. That doesn't mean the Caped Crusader couldn't have undertaken a few stealthy missions. Perhaps the aftermath of Joker's rampage left Gotham vulnerable to crime sprees. Maybe a new villain or two cropped up before the Dent Act took effect and took its giant bite out of crime. Maybe there's a more significant story behind Bruce's leg injury than just him suffering the toll of his battle with Two-face and Joker.

One potentially interesting story to explore involves the Joker himself. The Dark Knight gives viewers almost no insight into who this villain is, where he came from, or what sort of life he led prior to ripping off the Gotham mob and beginning his reign of terror. Joker was a man who somehow managed to exist completely off the grid, without even fingerprint or dental records to offer some clue as to his real identity.

That being said, no one in the 21st Century can live their entire life without leaving traces. Furthermore, we know Joker was active at least as far back as the conclusion of Batman Begins (and based on the “Joe Kerr” name tag, he may even have been disguised as the cop to whom Gordon handed the evidence bag in that final scene).

With Joker in more permanent custody after The Dark Knight wraps, the opportunity is there for an intrepid detective to dig into the character's past. What if Batman's final mission before his self-imposed retirement is to investigate Joker's life? The book could offer framing sequences set in the present, with flashbacks that shed as much or as little light on Joker's past as the creators deem necessary. Maybe fans could finally learn how he actually got those scars.

Obviously, there are a few problems with this approach. Joker has rarely been given an origin story in any medium. For many, the character's mystique is inevitably more interesting than whatever actual details might be revealed about his past. The other problem is that an attempt to further explore the specific version of Joker seen in Nolan's films could be seen as disrespectful to the memory of Heath Ledger. We doubt Nolan himself would lend support to the project given his insistence on keeping Joker's presence out of The Dark Knight Rises. DC would need to maintain a delicate balance with this option.

But whether or not Joker is a factor, the murky post-Dark Knight time period leaves ample room for new stories of some sort.

The Origin of Bane and Talia

Nolan hasn't been afraid to make significant alterations to iconic Batman villains in these movies. One of the more notable changes introduced is the linking of Bane to Talia and Ra's al Ghul. Comic fans know the story of how Bane was born in prison and doomed to serve out his father's life sentence. But in The Dark Knight Rises, Talia is the one condemned to this fate, while Bane is her loyal protector and, later, her enforcer.

Bane and Talia's harsh life in the Pit was conveyed through a series of brief flashbacks. We'd like to see this story more fully explored in the form of a comic book mini-series. The series could open with Ra's al Ghul youthful dalliance with Talia's mother and continue up until her ascension as leader of the League of Shadows. Readers would see more of the bond between Bane and Talia. They would learn what sort of role Bane played in the League of Shadows and what exactly caused him to be excommunicated.

One of the more common complaints regarding The Dark Knight Rises is that Talia's betrayal came too late in the film and thus, she wasn't developed well enough as a villain. An origin series could go a long way towards rectifying that flaw and fleshing out the surprisingly tender relationship between her and Bane. Meanwhile, Bane can always use a quality comic book appearance in general. Gail Simone's Secret Six aside, the character has often languished in the regular DC Universe since his heyday in Knightfall. Maybe the solution is to offer readers an entirely different version of Bane.

John Blake's Batman

One of the big mysteries surrounding the Dark Knight Rises was Batman's final fate. Would Bruce Wayne be killed in his final battle with Bane? Would John Blake or another Gothamite take up the mantle in Bruce Wayne's stead? The answer to both questions proved to be yes (from a certain point of view). The film ended with Bruce and Selina seeking happiness in obscurity while Blake confronted his new destiny in the Batcave.

A comic book follow-up could address the many burning questions still remaining from The Dark Knight Rises. Will Blake become Batman? Robin? Nightwing? What sorts of challenges will Gotham's new protector face as he establishes his reputation? How will characters like Gordon, Alfred, and Lucius Fox react to the idea of a new Batman? Do the deaths of Bane and Talia mean the end of the League of Shadows, or could a new foe emerge to continue Ra's al Ghul's work?

Blake's journey would no doubt be an interesting and chaotic one. The Dark Knight Rises established that he has the childhood trauma and the drive to be Batman, but not necessarily the training he needs to survive the worst Gotham has to offer. Will Blake embark on his own worldwide journey of study and self-discovery or just throw himself into the job and learn through experience?

And for that matter, what role would Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle have in a sequel? These two characters are nothing if not restless, and they may both realize that peace and quiet aren't all they're cracked up to be. Their globe-trotting adventures could offer a nice counterpoint to Blake's trials in Gotham. We could even see a situation where Bruce quietly returns to Gotham and mentors Blake in a Batman Beyond-esque dynamic. Another option is for the comic to draw in Barbara Gordon. Now a young adult, Barbara could move to Gotham to live with her estranged father and subsequently join Blake in his nightly escapades.

Perhaps more than anything, a true sequel to The Dark Knight Rises is the most obvious route to take if Nolan's films are to make the jump to comics. While there's always the possibility that WB would pursue an actual movie sequel with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead, it's more likely the studio will opt to reboot the Batman franchise with a more colorful, Justice League-friendly approach. A comic book follow-up could be the only way to see this particular take on Batman continue.

What would you like to see in a theoretical continuation of The Dark Knight Trilogy in comics? Sound off below!